Color terms in English idioms

Vera Mazurova
Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia
This research is done within the framework of cognitive linguistics which suggests that
language units reveal how the mind works. Therefore, to describe the semantic structure of
idioms the term “concept” is used as a mental structure representing the knowledge about the
particular traits of reality gained as a result of the process of cognition. We assume that the
meanings of many idioms are partially motivated by people’s conceptual knowledge of the
concepts to which idioms refer. We also stipulate that individual words in many idioms
contribute to the overall figurative interpretation of these phrases. That is why, to understand
the meaning of an idiom we consider it necessary to analyze the structure of the concepts
represented by certain words-constituents of an idiom.
In Russian cognitive linguistics a concept is traditionally viewed as a two-fold structure
consisting of the following types of information: notional information (the main meaning of
the word representing the concept) and associative information (individual experience and
perception of reality). The latter type can consequently be predetermined by the specific
national and cultural condition.
Based on all the previous suppositions, our research investigates culturally marked
associations that characterize the concepts represented by means of color terms as constituent
parts of English idioms. We proceed from the fact that color perception is similar for all
people whereas its interpretation is different among different nations. Thus, color concepts
reflect ethnical mentality. To support this fact we try to single out the cultural component of
idioms’ meaning that reflects cultural information color concepts contain.
We focus our attention on English idioms connected with traditions, customs, beliefs and
events belonging to national and universal culture. As a result of our research we come to the
conclusion that the meaning of these idioms is greatly influenced by either symbolic or
historical color associations.
The meaning of such idioms as black dog “melancholy or depression”, black ox
“misfortune”, for example, is determined by negative cultural associations connected with the
black color. The appearance of the idiom red-letter day “a day when something very
important or exciting happens” is due to the color tradition to mark the saints’ days in red.
Thus, the perception of color is investigated through the analysis of idioms’ semantics,
and consequently color concepts are reconstructed.